A new Outfit debuts in Dallas

A close-up of IPhaaaaaaay, a.k.a. Outfit's New-England-style IPA (Photo: © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D).

Emerging somewhat quietly on the North Texas scene, Outfit Brewing opened its doors this past weekend with a low-key, two-day event at its facility in Northwest Dallas.

There was no glitz or glamour leading up to the debut, just a simple social media post saying, in effect, "we're open." But, the lack of a big build up makes sense once you meet founder Jordan Young. His story mirrors that of many, in that he's trying to take his passion for brewing to the next level. Yet, he's not looking to make a big splash with designs on taking over the world. Instead, Young is starting small and staying within his means, hoping to learn and grow organically as a member of the craft beer community.

"This is very much a grass roots effort, with a lot of family and friends helping out," says Young. "We're slowly working on getting our name out there, and we're still making decisions on how we want to do things."

One decision was easy, considering the availability of an unused warehouse his family has owned since the late 1970s. The family deals in insurance, so the front part of the structure still houses one of its offices, but Young renovated about 4000 square feet of space to locate the brewery and taproom out back. There, the production and public areas exist as an integrated unit, with seating options provided both inside and out.

The taproom at Outfit has indoor and outdoor seating, two bars, two wide-screen TVs and a Golden Tee arcade game (Photos: © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D).

As for why Young chose the name "Outfit" for the company, that story goes back to his grandfather.

"My grandfather used the word 'outfit' for everything," explains Young. "He was a real character...a good guy...a funny guy. He started the insurance agency here years ago, and this was his building, so it's all just kind of an homage and to honor him."

On the topic of Outfit's product portfolio, the initial lineup consisted of six different beers. Two IPAs were among the offerings, as was a cream ale, a Belgian blonde, a saison and a kölsch. According to Young, the kölsch - which sold out - and a New England-style IPA were the most popular, while I would count the hoppy, Brett-influenced saison as my own personal favorite.

Those recipes, and others in the works, are produced on a small-batch, five-barrel system. Given that, Young doesn't intend to distribute on a large scale (incidentally, self-distribution is the plan for now). Once operations ramp up, a few beers will be offered to draft accounts, but most of the brewery's stock will be made available in the taproom, either as a draft pour or by way of growler fills.

What that means is, you should head to the brewery if you're looking to try the area's newest Outfit on for size. Set times for taproom hours are still to be determined, though, so be sure to follow Outfit's social media channels (Facebook, Twitter) for announcements on when those will occur.